Press release,
21 September 2001
European NGOS concerned with privacy and civil liberties urge
European leaders to defend citizens' freedoms

Seven European NGOS concerned with privacy and civil liberties
have urged European leaders to defend citizens' freedoms in the
wake of the attack on the USA. In an open letter to the extraordinary
informal meeting of the European Council scheduled for Friday
evening in Brussels the organisations ask European leaders to
refrain from new and extended communications interception and
lawful access powers for police forces and intelligences services.

The organisations from Austria, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands
and the United Kingdom question the effectiveness and proportionality
of such capabilities and warn against the grave loss of privacy
that those measures would lead to.

The open letter also urges to defend and promote the right
of private and secure communications through the use of encryption.
"To restrict the use of cryptography will negatively affect
the security of our communications infrastructure, further damage
trust in our economy, and will restrict the rights of individuals,
without affecting the
capabilities of terrorists. We urge Europe's leaders to carefully
take the recommendations of the European parliament regarding
the Echelon report into account and stimulate the use of open-source
encryption technology."

European privacy and civil liberties organisations urge European
leaders
to defend citizens' freedoms

The terrorist attacks on the U.S. did not only target human
lives and property but also the essential values of freedom in
open societies. Political leaders in Europe will now wish to
enhance the security of their countries and protect the public
from further wrongdoing. We urge them to take this opportunity
to defend the freedom and the rights of Europe's citizens.

European privacy and civil liberties organisations urge Europe's
leaders to refrain from new and extended communications interception
and lawful access powers for police forces and intelligences
services. We question the effectiveness and proportionality of
such capabilities and warn against the grave loss of privacy
that those measures would lead to.

We support the recommendations of the European Parliament
regarding Echelon. The existence of the Echelon system did not
provide intelligence services with information about the attacks
in the U.S., and as a result we are concerned that Echelon and
similar systems threaten the rights of all European citizens
without achieving their stated goals. It is not likely that more
legal possibilities and funding for signals intelligence would
change the current situation.

We urge Europe's leaders to defend and promote the right of
private and secure communications through the use of encryption.
To restrict the use of cryptography will negatively affect the
security of our communications infrastructure, further damage
trust in our economy, and will restrict the rights of individuals,
without affecting the
capabilities of terrorists. We urge Europe's leaders to carefully
take the recommendations of the European parliament regarding
the Echelon report into account and stimulate the use of open-source
encryption technology.

Also we urge European leaders not to implement legislation
that mandates internet and telecommunication service providers
to retain traffic data for law enforcement purposes. Retention
of traffic data will in effect transform our communications infrastructure
into a surveillance system that records intimate details of the
personal life of all citizens.

We, the undersigned European NGOs concerned with privacy and
civil liberties, look forward to working with Europe's leaders
on these issues. As we all deliberate on how to proceed and the
lessons we may have learned from the sad events in the U.S.,
we must resist the political temptation to act hastily.